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Since I bought my focus I was thinking about fitting cruise control. Some may say it is not necessary, but I find it very useful on long motorway trips.

Started searching for info on the internet and here are the results.

Before buying any parts there is few things to check:

1. GEM number – according to info I have it must end with DX (where X could be any letter - A,B or any other), for example 4M5T-14A073-DW. I have read about another person who has successfully added Cruise Control to their Ford with a "C" GEM, but it was only one case and I am not 100% sure about it. You can read the GEM number on the sticker on the other side of fuse box.

2. Check the GEM connector 103 – blue one with two rows of wires, located on the left next to fuses – if it has brown wire attached to pin 10 and white wire attached to pin 18.

3. Check steering wheel clock spring connector if it has 6 wires – two are for the horn, two for the airbag and the two mentioned above are for the cruise control. To do this you have to remove steering column cover. The upper part has two hooks – you can see them when you turn steering wheel 90 degrees right and left. Release them and remove the cover.

The lower part is fixed with two Torx 25 screws, but first you have to remove the radio steering controls.

The Connector is under steering column just behind steering wheel.

4. Check if there are two switches present on the brake pedal as pictured below (black and blue).

And also check if there is a switch present on clutch pedal (black, and of course only manual transmission).

A Ford dealer mechanic informed me, that he has never seen a car without them fitted, but it is better to check your specific model before continuing.

The next thing to do is to find a Ford dealer which will activate cruise control in our car and this might be the hard part. I did it while I was abroad on holidays so unfortunately I can’t recommend any dealer’s in the UK that would carry out this service. It might be worth asking some Ford specialist / independent garage as well.

It is necessary to connect the car to IDS and activate / program cruise control in GEM module, the PCM module (engine control system) and instrument cluster (cruise control will work without it, but there will be no control light when CC is on).

Parts required:

If your car is currently equipped with a 4 spoke steering wheel then you just need to purchase a replacement 4 spoke wheel that has the cruise control buttons attached, it is not necessary to purchase a second airbag unit.

Please note: The steering wheel with CC from the Ford c-max is not suitable for the focus.

If your car has 3 spoke steering wheel like mine was, then the airbag will not fit 4 spoke one directly. But fortunately you don’t have to buy new airbag; you can simply get an airbag cover for the 4 spoke steering wheel. This is a genuine Ford part and the airbag will be fully functional with the replacement cover fitted.

Do not bother asking your dealer for this cover because it is not listed as separate part.

Before you start this modification and remove the airbag from the wheel it is recommended to disconnect battery.

Remove steering column cover to get some space. Time to remove airbag – there are 3 holes in steering wheel from column side.

Start from the side, turn wheel for easier access, slide flat short screwdriver all the way in (1), than twist it (2) and at the same time pull the airbag.

Turn the steering wheel and repeat with two remaining hooks. When the airbag is unhooked disconnect the plug and connector as seen in the image below:

Now easy part – unplug remaining connector, unscrew (key 27 as far as I remember) and change steering wheel. Then tight the screw, plug connector and it’s done.

Fitting the airbag is very easy – plug in the connectors, put airbag in place and push it.

If you need to change the airbag cover you will have to damage the old one, unfortunately there is no easy way to remove it and there is a risk of damaging the airbag. I found the easiest option was to cut it in pieces and remove in sections, avoiding any damage to the airbag unit.

Once the old cover has been removed from the airbag unit, put new one in place over the airbag and push hard.

I changed the cover after CC activation just in case it would fail and I wanted to fit back my 3 spoke steering wheel. To avoid airbag fault light on the connectors were plugged and the airbag was fittied with some tape in order to get to the dealer and back home.

All together it took me around one hour to change steering wheel, most of the time I spent trying to figure out how to remove the airbag unit itself.

All you have to do now is to contact your local Ford dealer and activate CC. In my case it took them about one hour to do this.

Unfortunately I can’t exactly say how much money you will have to spend. I did this modification while I was on holiday abroad, the local dealer there had no problems with the LHD car, but not every Ford dealer wants to do this because “This is against Ford policy”.

Parts bought over the internet and dealer labour costs were probably cheaper than in UK:

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If you do the checklist from my above post and answer four times "YES" it means that all the wiring and required parts are in your car and after fitting replacement 4 spoke steering wheel with CC buttons cruise control can be activated by Ford dealer or another garage with IDS.

Switches are just above clutch and brake pedals, you need to look up. It is good to use torch.

also, whats involved in removing the air back cover?

What do you mean? You would have to change airbag cover only if you are changing existing 3 spoke steering wheel to 4 spoke one with CC buttons. You simply need to cut old airbag cover to remove it - it is all clear when you have airbag unit in hand. I advise not to do this until CC is activated.

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In your case you will remove the whole airbag unit together with cover and then you will be able to change steering wheel. No need to remove cover separately. The guide shows how to do this step by step. Look at the photos.

Currently at this at the moment. I have the pedal switches already in place and the leather wheel with cruise buttons fitted .............now i will check the GEM and module behind the wheel to see if i have whats needed. The activation could be a problem as Ford dealers over here don't want to know but i'll get there somehow. Thanks for the guide mate, been looking for something to reference off for a while now.............cheers. Richie.

Plenty of independent garages in the Uk with IDS for Ford so you should find someone easy enough..........check out garageforum.co.uk and should find someone there. Different story here, nobody has it at all. But i might tie it in with my next trip over if i can. Let you know soon.........

Sorry Peter , just reading the full thread properly now and see you have it activated already...I'm going to tackle the local Ford garage tomorrow as the head technican is a friend of a friend........blah blah , so could be worth a shot ? Too cold outside at the moment to check the GEM number and so on, - 4 here , staying put in front of the fire :)

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Also forgot to mention about a little GEM input test i found earlier..... Hold the heated rear window button in and turn ignition on. Keep button pressed for a few seconds and you'll hear a beep. Now when you use any off the stalk controls you'll hear a beep and the indicators will flash also. This beep/flash confirms the GEM input of the lights,wipers etc........... Turn ignition off to cancel. When in this test mode, i press the steering wheel buttons for cruise, i am getting the beep/flash... Reckon all i need is activation based on this test.........

The above might be worth a post of its own, to bring it to others attention.

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Do you have any idea if mk2 and mk2,5 steering wheels are interchangeable? I asked my ford dealership. They agree to reprogram the car but say that according to their info mk2 and mk2,5 have different steering wheel part number. As far as I can see there is no difference. Do you guys have any clue?

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Do you have any idea if mk2 and mk2,5 steering wheels are interchangeable? I asked my ford dealership. They agree to reprogram the car but say that according to their info mk2 and mk2,5 have different steering wheel part number. As far as I can see there is no difference. Do you guys have any clue?

Hi mate,

the Mk2 and Mk2.5 are identical cars mechanicly, and the haynes manual is the same one for both cars so the wiring and plugs are all the same,

the only difference in them is the body styling, all looms and fittings are identical, ford tend to change part numbers with identical parts possibly to maintain a patient over the design but all are the same as far as i am aware ;)

This is Russian software working with ELM327 interface (costs only 12 quid). Gives us lots of possibilities - activation of cruise control, washer fluid warning light, display of real time fuel usage in pre-lift models, display of RDS and telephone info on onboard computer (these were confirmed on other forum) and many many others, still learning about this software.

This is Russian software working with ELM327 interface (costs only 12 quid). Gives us lots of possibilities - activation of cruise control, washer fluid warning light, display of real time fuel usage in pre-lift models, display of RDS and telephone info on onboard computer (these were confirmed on other forum) and many many others, still learning about this software.

I think it is time to get interface for Ford :)

That is an absolute gold mine of a find, and I can confirm the 6th tick box says "Cruise Control"! (kpyn3-....)

This is another find that you should start its own thread for, any one on here speak Russian?